Friday, November 25, 2011

I've had a busy few weeks. That's why I haven't been posting much lately. My granddaughter was baptized on November 13th. I was away in Chicago for a few days last week for the 2011 NCTE Annual Convention. Upon my return home, I had to get cracking with preparations for Thanksgiving. I hosted my family this year in my "new" dining room.

I have also experienced some major computer problems recently. My computer was with the techs for a few days. Then...I still had some problems with it after I brought it home. The following morning, I couldn't connect to the Internet. I think I've finally solved my connectivity problem. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

We definitely had a Thanksgiving to remember. We were joined by our newest family member--my adorable granddaughter Julia Anna who was born in early August. She was smiling and in a really good mood. She was the hit of the party!

Some Christening Photos

(Juliawore my daughter Sara's christening gown.)

Thanksgiving at My House

Most of the other pictures that I took yesterday didn't come out too well.

Julia doesn't always cooperate when we're trying to take pictures of her.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

I’m leaving for Chicago today. I’ll be attending the NCTE Annual Convention. On Friday, we’ll celebrate the poetry of J. Patrick Lewis. Pat is the 2011 recipient of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Once again, I’ll say congratulations to Pat for this honor that he so well deserves.

J. Patrick Lewis

Here are some Thanksgiving poems that you might like to share with students and family:

Giving Thanks
Author Unknown

Giving ThanksFor the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home - Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,For the good that our artists and poets have taught,For the friendship that hope and affection have brought - Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the homes that with purest affection are blest,For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,For our country extending from sea unto sea;The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" - Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving
Traditional

The year has turned its circle,The seasons come and go.The harvest is all gathered inAnd chilly north winds blow.Orchards have shared their treasures,The fields, their yellow grain.So open wide the doorway-Thanksgiving comes again!

From Thanksgiving
by Ivy O. Eastwick

Thank youfor all my hands can hold-apples red,and melons gold,yellow cornboth ripe and sweet,peas and beansso good to eat!

The year has turned its circle,The seasons come and go.The harvest is all gathered inAnd chilly north winds blow.

Orchards have shared their treasures,The fields, their yellow grain.So open wide the doorway-Thanksgiving comes again!

Thanksgiving Magic
by Rowena Bastin Bennett

Thanksgiving Day I like to seeOur cook perform her witchery.She turns a pumpkin into pieAs easily as you or ICan wave a hand or wink an eye.She takes leftover bread and muffinAnd changes them to turkey stuffin’.

The man who stands above the bird, his knifeSharp as a Turkish scimitar, first removesA thigh and leg, half the supportOn which the turkey used to stand. ThisLeg and thigh he sets on an extraPlate. All his weight now on One leg, he lunges for the wing, the wingOn the same side of the bird from whichHe has just removed the leg and thigh.He frees the wing enough to exposeThe breast, the wing not severed butCollapsed down to the platter.

“Looky!” says a silly turkey,Swinging from a vine.GOBBLE GOBBLE WIBBLE WOBBLEWhoops! Now there are…

9“Looky!” squawks a goofy turkey,Trying to roller-skate.GOBBLE GOBBLE WIBBLE WOBBLEOoops! Now there are…

I think you can figure out what comes next.

Finally, all the turkeys are gone…and so is the fence. Not to worry though. At the end of the book, we see that the turkeys have found a new place where they can gather together and start fooling around once more.

The humorous illustrations by Rich Deas add to the fun of the goofy, goony, loony turkeys' shenanigans.

Giving Thanks is not a picture book about the Thanksgiving holiday. I would describe it as more of a paean to nature than a story. It is a book about a boy who is learning a deep respect for and appreciation of the natural world and the creatures that inhabit it from his father.

The book is set on an autumn day. The boy and his father go off on a walk through meadows and the woods. The father gives thanks for all the gifts of nature they see on their daylong outing—including frogs and crickets singing down by the creek; the tiny beings with six or eight legs, weaving their tiny stories close to the earth; chanterelles, the wild mushrooms that smell like pumpkins; deer who have passed this way, their tracks like two fingers pressed in the dirt.

The book’s text is brief and oft times lyrical. The oil on canvas illustrations done by Manchess are gorgeous. Their broad, visible brushstrokes and blurred outlines bring to mind an impressionistic style of art. Shifting perspectives and close-ups keep this quiet book from becoming static.

Reading and discussing Giving Thanks with children might help to imbue them with an appreciation and respect for animals and other riches of nature that are so often taken for granted. It would be a fine book to read aloud in the classroom or to one’s own children before taking them on a nature walk. It’s also an excellent book about father-son bonding.

Note: Jonathan London dedicated this book to Joseph Bruchac, the award-winning Native American author and storyteller whose family founded the Ndakinna Education Center, a not-for-profit organization located on the Bruchac Nature Preserve in Greenfield Center, NY.

THANKSGIVING IS HERE!

Written & illustrated by Diane Goode

HarperCollins, 2003

There isn’t much of a story in this book. It's a depiction of a joyful—and hectic—celebration of Thanksgiving as experienced by one large family.

Grandma arises early on Thanksgiving morning to get the turkey into the oven. Then, through the course of the day, relatives arrive—along with their children, a baby carriage, an enormous “special” present, knitting needles and yarn, a violin—and even a dog. Family unites to help with dinner preparations, the moving of furniture, and setting of tables.

Goode’s text curves and swerves above and below her light-hearted, cartoon-style illustrations, which add happy and humorous details to the story. Much of this holiday extravaganza is told through her art. In the pictures, we see children hiding under a table, adults reading to children, some relatives dancing while another relatve plays the piano, older family members sleeping on chairs and sofas after their huge turkey dinner, a young boy playing the violin while standing atop a table, a crying baby, and one of the youngsters pulling off an elder’s toupee.

Thanksgiving Is Here! is a celebration of families…of relatives of all ages gathering together for one of the most special occasions of the year.

THE THANKSGIVING DOOR

Written & illustrated by Debby Atwell

Houghton Mifflin (Walter Lorraine), 2003

I am quoting from the blurb printed on the back of the paperback edition of The Thanksgiving Door because it explains so succinctly and so well what this story is all about: “On Thanksgiving Day, an immigrant family opens their door to a couple of uninvited guests, sharing an evening of friendship, good food, and lots of dancing, and remembering that Thanksgiving is about opening one’s heart in welcome to the strangers who become friends and to the disappointments that bring unexpected joys.”

Ed and Ann are elderly. They’re home alone on Thanksgiving Day. When Ann realizes that their turkey has burned, she and Ed decide to see if the new restaurant down the street, which is owned by immigrants, is open for the holiday. Ed and Ann find the front door of the New World Café open. They step into the large dining room and see a long table that has been decorated and set for dinner. The restaurant is actually supposed to be closed for the holiday. The immigrant family is planning to have a big feast for relatives. The immigrants peer at Ed and Ann through windows in the kitchen door. They’re angry that intruders have made their way into the dining room. They’re sure their celebration will be ruined—and try to think of ways to scare the uninvited guests away.

But Grandmother feels differently. She believes they should share their meal and “turkey big as a doghouse” with the unexpected guests. The family decides that Grandmother is right. They add two more chairs to the table and welcome Ed and Ann to join them for dinner. And so, the members of an immigrant family open their hearts to an elderly couple and share not only food…but friendship--and their own special celebration of an American holiday in their adopted country.

It isn’t until the end of this heartwarming tale that readers find out that Grandmother had jammed a potato under the front door to keep it open. When Papa asks how it got there, Grandmother responds: “In old country Thanksgiving door is like happy heart, opened up big and wide.”

Atwell’s flat, folk-art-style illustrations are bright and colorful. They include lots of details and intricate patterns, which add visual interest. The intense warm colors used in the second half of the book echo the warm feelings of friendship and acceptance expressed in her story.

Although the ethnicity of the immigrant family is never stated in the text, Atwell provides plenty of visual clues for discerning readers in her illustrations: a painting of buildings with onion domes hanging on a dining room wall; the boxy, brown fur hats worn by the men; and family members performing what appears to be a Russian Cossack dance.

Squanto’s Journey

The Story of the First Thanksgiving

Written by Joseph Bruchac

Illustrated by Greg Shed

Silver Whistle/Harcourt, 2000

This historical fiction picture book is an excellent informational read-aloud for the elementary grades. Bruchac narrates the story in the voice of Squanto (Tisquantum), a Patuxet Indian. The book opens with Squanto telling about his capture by Captain Thomas Hunt who took him and other Patuxets to Spain to be sold as slaves in 1614, how Spanish friars set Squanto free and helped him to get to England, and Squanto’s return to America in 1619 when he found that his people had been devastated by a disease. In the rest of the book, we learn about Squanto’s building a friendship with the Pokanokets and Nemaskets; Samoset, a Pemaquid Indian; the arrival of the Pilgrims on the Mayflower; and the relationship between Squanto and the English that helped the settlers at Plimoth make it through their first year in the New World. The book includes an author’s note and a glossary.

Milly and the Macy’s Parade

Written by Shana Corey

Illustrated by Brett Helquist

Scholastic, 2002

This is a story about a young girl named Milly whose family has immigrated to the United States from Poland. Milly’s father works at Macy’s Department Store. He—along with other immigrants who work there—miss their families and the holiday celebrations they had back in their homelands. Milly takes note of their feelings and gets a grand idea.

Meanwhile, Mr. Macy is concerned because his salesclerks are frowning instead of acting festive before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. He thinks the salesclerks are depressing the customers. He’s trying to figure out a solution to this problem. That’s when Milly approaches Mr. Macy and explains her idea. She tells him how she thinks “Macy’s could bring a little bit of everyone’s home to America.” Mr. Macy is receptive to Milly’s suggestion that the store sponsor a celebration that will remind the homesick employees of their holidays back home. The following day the store posts a sign advertising its Christmas parade. Word spreads quickly.

On Thanksgiving Day, Milly, her father, and all the other Macy’s workers dress up in costumes and march in the holiday parade. They all enjoy singing and strolling down the street—just as they had done in the old country.

This is a highly fictionalized account of the origin of the famous Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Shana Corey includes an Author’s Note with background information on the parade—including the fact that it missed only three holidays. It was canceled from 1942-1944 because of World War II.

TURK AND RUNT

Story by Lisa Wheeler

Pictures by Frank Ansley

Simon & Schuster, 2002

Looking for a Thanksgiving story that will get young kids laughing? I recommendTurk and Runt. It’s a slyly humorous tale about two turkey brothers named Turk and Runt. The boys’ parents are extremely proud of their son Turk. He’s “the biggest, strongest, and most graceful bird on Wishbone Farm.” He’s a dancer and an athlete! What turkey parents wouldn’t puff out their chest feathers if they had a progeny like that? Turk’s parents are sure he’s going to go far in life. Bespectacled little Runt, however, knows exactly where Turk’s headed—not to fame and fortune, but to somebody’s house where he’ll be roasted and basted. Runt’s parents won’t listen to his warnings. They’re too wrapped up in their ambitious dreams for Turk.

Two days before Thanksgiving the famous ballet instructor Madame Waddelle arrives at the farm. “An audition!” squeals Turk’s mother. “Go out there and shake those tail feathers!” she tells her son. Turk leaps and spins…twirls and whirls. What a performance! The dance teacher is mighty impressed—especially with the size of Turk’s drumsticks.

Realizing that he’ll have to be the one to save his brother, Runt puffs out his feathers, throws himself to the ground, flaps and flops, hisses and sputters, gobbles like a maniac, and nearly scares the leggings off of Madame Waddelle. She runs away screaming: “Zees birds are crazy!”

But Turk’s not safe yet. The next day Coach Giblet arrives to select his Thanksgiving fowl. Turk’s father tells him to display his football prowess. Turk bobs and weaves, tackles and dives. He mows down every turkey in his path. The coach is in awe of this athletic bird. That’s when Runt comes to the rescue again. He cries and coughs and wheezes—he sniffles and sneezes and falls to the ground, hacking and quivering. “Good gravy!” shouts the coach sure that the turkeys are ill. He heads for the hills.

Runt’s parents are sad. Will their dreams for Turk’s bright future be realized? Maybe. When they see a little old lady driving onto the farm on Thanksgiving morning, they’re hopes are rejuvenated. They encourage Turk: “Show her what you’ve got!” But the elderly female isn’t interested in the robust Turk. She’s looking for a fowl of smaller stature—and Runt seems to be just the right size. His parents can’t believe it!

Knowing what the old lady has in store for him, Runt is on the run! That’s when Turk comes to his rescue. He uses the ballet moves and football maneuvers he’s perfected to help his puny sibling. When Runt gobbles like a maniac and Turk tackles her, the woman is finally frightened off.

Later that day, the thankful turkey family enjoys a feast of corn and alfalfa. But their happiness is shattered when Runt warns them that they’re not out of the woods yet. “Come December, folks begin planning their holiday dinners.” Readers have no need to worry about the fate of this fine fowl family. Runt’s got a plan—and you can be sure that this time everyone listens to him.

This poetry collection opens with a poem that is set on the day before Thanksgiving at an elementary school where kindergarten and first grade students are celebrating the holiday with a pageant. The fifteen poems in this collection take us through the school festivities as well as those of a family with three young children. I'll give you a flavor of the poetry you'll find in this book. Here is the first stanza of the first poem.

From The Day Before

All kinds of turkeysare strutting the halls.Finely feathered gobblersare squawking out their calls.

The next two poems, The Mayflower and The First Thanksgiving, are recited by children dressed up as Pilgrims and Native Americans. In The First Thanksgiving, thanks are given for friends and for the foods that helped to sustain the Pilgrims: pumpkins, beans, and corn. This is how the three-stanza poem ends:

From The First Thanksgiving:

So thank you for cornAnd thank you for friends.On the earth and on othersWe all must depend.

The rest of the poems take place at the home of the family hosting the Thanksgiving Day feast. There’s a poem in which Granny tells the children what it was like when she was a little girl. There are poems about activities that young and old relatives participate in before dinner: Thanksgiving Parade and Thanksgiving Charades. There are four poems about giving thanks: Thank You God for Bugs, Graces, Thank You Singing Game, and Goodnight Prayer. There is also Prayer for Others, a poem in which the children ask God to help Grandma to get better and to help those less fortunate than they.

I don’t want to leave the impression that all these poems and prayers about thankfulness and thinking about others lend a too-serious tone to the book. The poems are told from a child’s perspective and many are expressed with a childlike exuberance. In addition, R. W. Alley’s cartoon-style illustrations, rendered in pen-and-ink and watercolor, add a lot of levity and humor. They complement and extend the text. In the illustration for the poem Rhyme Time Thanks, Alley depicts a family busily preparing the Thanksgiving dinner. The painting abounds with lots of droll details: The dog has a slice of pie in its bowl; a mouse looks at cream that has spilled onto the floor as Grandfather whips the cream into a froth; the youngest child pushes a cat around the kitchen in a rolling baby chair.

Here’s an excerpt from The Way It Is at Our House, one of the most lighthearted poems in the collection.Do Uncle Ernie’s socks match?No! No! No!

Does Joey’s little dog scratch?So! So! So!

Does Granny Nan tell funny jokes?Ho! Ho! Ho!

Thanksgiving Day at Our House ends with Goodnight Prayer, a poem in which the young children of the family who hosted the holiday dinner express their gratitude for all the things they appreciate—including their happy feast, friends and relatives, blankets and toys, Papa’s singing noise and Mama’s kisses.

Friday, November 11, 2011

When I was an elementary school teacher, I loved integrating children’s literature with other subjects—especially science and writing. I think Cynthia Rylant’s picture book In November would be a perfect book to use with students at this time of year to connect children with nature and to inspire them to write poetry.

NOTE: I’m reposting the following 2009 Wild Rose Reader blog with a few changes.

In November is a picture book with a spare, lyrical text. It’s not a storybook. It’s a book-length prose poem that speaks to the essence of a month when the colorful beauty and fruitful bounty of the fall season is part of the past. In the book, Rylant talks about trees that have lost their leaves, birds moving away for winter, snow blanketing the ground, animals sleeping more, food having an “orange smell” and tasting better, and people gathering together to share a special holiday with each other. Rylant repeats the phrase “In November” several times in her text. Rylant’s use of repetition throughout the book is one of the author’s writing techniques—along with the rhythm and flow of her evocative language—that helps her text read like poetry.

Here are some excerpts from the book to give you the “autumnal” flavor of In November:

In November, the trees are standing all sticks and bones. Without their leaves, how lovely they are, spreading their arms like dancers. They know it is time to be still.

In November, animals sleep more. The air is chilly and they shiver.Cats pile up in the corners of barns.Mice pile up under logs. Bees pile up in deep, earthy holes.And dogs lie before the fire.

The book closes with my favorite passage:

In November, at winter’s gate, the stars are brittle. The sun is a sometime friend. And the world has tucked her children in, with a kiss on their heads, till spring.

Kastern’s full-color illustrations done in oil paints are as evocative of the month as are Rylant’s words. The uncluttered paintings with changing perspectives and close-ups of leaves and birds and other animals draw a reader into the quiet text…into a “chilling” time of year when people and many animals draw into closer confines to keep themselves warm and to shelter themselves from the cold and long hours of darkness.

What Do You Do with a Book Like This?

Write a Collaborative Class Prose Poem

In November would be an excellent book for teachers to read aloud in the elementary grades during this month. It’s a book that could serve as a wonderful springboard for a classroom writing activity. So often children are asked to write about the signs of fall…but usually during an earlier part of the season when pumpkins and apples are growing plump and round in garden patches and orchards and trees are wearing leafy crowns of bright autumnal colors—or, in November, they’re asked to write about all the things they are thankful for as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.

Why not lead students in writing a collaborative “In November” prose poem modeled after Rylant’s book? I would suggest taking kids for a walk outside, on a hike in the woods, or on a field trip to an orchard or farm after the first reading of the book. Having children spend time outdoors will expose them to the sights, sounds, and smells of November. It will help to provide them with inspiration for a classroom writing activity.

Following the field trip, ask your students to tell you about the sights, sounds, and smells that they experienced outdoors. List them on chart paper. Then read In November aloud again and discuss with students the things that came to Rylant’s mind when she wrote her book. Next, read the book aloud a third time slowly from beginning to end and ask children to listen carefully to the detailed/poetic language and figures of speech Rylant used in her text. Following that, the teacher could point out passages or a phrase or two from the book herself.

For example:

Trees “spreading their arms like dancers”

About birds: “The air is full of good-byes and well-wishes.”

About the smell and taste of food in November: “It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a morning, can pull everyone from bed in a fog.”

At Thanksgiving, people “talk by crackling woodstoves, sipping mellow cider.”

At this point in the process, the teacher and her students should be ready to start work on the first draft of their collaborative class prose poem. An easel, a pad of large chart paper, and a marker are all the supplies a teacher will need.

Writing the Class Poem: Ask children to think about the sights, sounds, and smells that come to mind when they think of the month of November. As children share, write down their responses on the chart paper—leaving large spaces between the responses. When the class has finished its rough draft, leave it up for a day or two to give children time to reread it, to suggest additions to the poem, and to think of more specific/detailed language and figures of speech that could be used when revising the class poem. The teacher should write down the children’s suggestions and ideas on another sheet of chart paper.

When the class is ready to write the second draft of their prose poem, the teacher can cut the different lines of the first draft into strips. This will make it easier for students to organize the poem. It will also make it easier for them to decide where to insert the words “In November” in several places in the text of their poem. Once the teacher and students have read through their prose poem together and determined that is ready for its final draft, the teacher should rewrite it on a new sheet of chart paper. Then she and her students should read the poem together from beginning to end.

Suggestion for making illustrated In November books: The teacher could type the entire prose poem on the computer—putting just one or two sentences on each page. The teacher could run off a copy of the entire poem for each student to illustrate. Students could design their own book covers. Finally, each student’s book could be stapled or bound together. Their In November books would be wonderful gifts for them to take home and to share with their families at Thanksgiving.

Friday, November 4, 2011

I am proud to announce that I am one of thirty writers who will have a poem included in a forthcoming anthology titled Dare to Dream…Change the World. The book will be published by Kane Miller. It will be released next fall.

Jill Corcoran is the individual responsible for putting together this “inspirational” anthology with poems about exceptional individuals who “dared to dream” and accomplished great things during their lifetimes.

We poets worked in pairs. I partnered with my friend Janet Wong. I wrote a biographical poem; Janet wrote an inspirational poem.

JONAS SALK

My contribution to Dare to Dream is a poem about Jonas Salk—the man who developed the first polio vaccine in the 1950s. I chose Salk as my subject because I remember how frightened parents were back then that their children might contract the dread disease—one that had crippled so many. Highly infectious, poliomyelitis—also known as infantile paralysis—chiefly affected children.

﻿

I can still vividly recall standing in line at Peabody City Hall when I was about eight or nine years old waiting to get vaccinated. I also recall how relieved everyone was after the Salk vaccine had been declared safe and effective. Jonas Salk changed the world for me and for millions of others.

﻿Here is a poem I wrote about the day that I got my first polio vaccination. By the way, it is not the poem that will be included in Dare to Dream.

Dear Doctor Salk,

It’s a steamy summer day.I remember a day like this more than a half century agoWhen I stood in line at City Hall Watching other children get polio vaccinations.I saw them grimace as needles pricked their arms.I was afraid. Would it hurt? Would I cry when my turn came?

I neared the table that held a tray of hypodermics.A nurse daubed my arm with a cotton swab.I closed my eyes, felt a stab of pain.I walked away wondering if I would be safe now,Protected from the dread disease That could paralyze me.Would I ever have to walk with braces on my legs?Would I ever be trapped inside an iron lung?

Soon headlines shouted, “Polio Is Conquered!”…“Polio Routed!”President Eisenhower presented you with the Medal of MeritFor your dedication to service.He said he had no words to thank you.You had worked endless hours, sacrificed—not for money…not for fame…But for the good of mankind. When asked who owned the patent on your vaccine, you replied,“There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?”

I needn’t have wondered or worried that summer day at City Hall. I was immunized against the virus that had crippled so many.I have no words to thank you, Doctor Salk.

About Me

I worked as an elementary school teacher for more than three decades and as a school librarian for three years. I also taught a children's literature course at Boston University from 2002-2008. I served on the advisory board of the Keene State College Children’s Literature Festival from 2006-2008 and as a member of the NCTE Poetry Committee from 2009-2012. I am now retired and write poetry for children. "Things to Do," my first children's book, will be published by Chronicle Books in February of 2017.